A COMPLETE GUIDE TO ORGANISING AND HOLDING A JUST CLIMATE EVENT!

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1 Change your footprint - take a stand. Change your footprint take a stand. A COMPLETE GUIDE TO ORGANISING AND HOLDING A JUST CLIMATE EVENT! Change your Footprint Take a Stand 1

2 IN THIS GUIDE YOU LL FIND: u Steps to help you organise your event v Ideas for your event w Petition Form x Presenter Notes for the film Sweet Water IT S GREAT THAT YOU VE DECIDED TO TAKE A STAND! LET S GET STARTED In Context Climate change is an issue that is currently receiving a vast amount of attention from politicians, scientists, media, policy makers, environmentalists and industry groups alike. But to what extent are the world s poorest and most vulnerable communities featured in these conversations? Caritas Australia believes that the response to climate change must go beyond the scientific and political: a global, humanitarian approach is required to ensure that justice and human dignity prevail. Well designed policies can help to address climate change and protect the most vulnerable. But it is only through real collaboration forged in the spirit of solidarity and respect for creation that we can establish a just and lasting response to climate change. What is the A Just Climate Campaign? Climate change is an issue for the entire international community. A Just Climate is a campaign which seeks to promote ecological sustainability as a means to minimise the impact of climate change on the world s most vulnerable communities. It is about protecting the inherent human dignity of the poorest of the poor. This campaign will see thousands of people take action in 2011 to ensure that the world s poor are heard in both national and international discussions about how best to address the challenges posed by climate change. Whether it is through raising awareness in your community by hosting A Just Climate Event, engaging in conversations with your local politician, or by taking personal action to reduce your ecological footprint, your engagement will be contributing a core message: WE WANT A JUST CLIMATE FUTURE FOR THE WORLD S POOR! 2

3 What is A Just Climate & Why Is It Important? Ongoing research and observation including anecdotal evidence from Caritas Australia s partners and projects clearly point to the devastating consequences for the world s poor that will result from a failure to respond to climate change. Our partners have told us that the rains are coming earlier, the drought is lasting longer, fresh water is becoming scarcer due to sea level rise and storm surges, extreme weather events such as cyclones are increasing in frequency and intensity. At a recent Caritas seminar in Fiji, Father Michael McKenzie from the Diocese of Tarawa, Kiribati said For us Climate Change is a life issue people are trying to cope with it day by day. For the rest of the world it is an economic issue. Ironically, it is the poorest countries which have often contributed the least to the causes of climate change who are most vulnerable to its impact. They are also the ones least able to afford climate adaptation and mitigation. It is for these reasons that climate change moves beyond the realms of science, politics and ecology and becomes an issue of social justice. The protection of the environment, of resources and of the climate obliges all international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to work in good faith promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the planet Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas In Veritate (Charity In Truth) 2009 Caritas Australia The Latin word Caritas means love and compassion. These qualities are central to our work. We partner with communities in over 35 countries around the world, helping people to help themselves out of poverty. Our work covers three main areas: Long term sustainable development Emergency relief and disaster response Education and advocacy Caritas Australia is the official aid and development agency of the Catholic Church, but we work with all people, regardless of race, religion, gender or political beliefs. We belong to an international network called Caritas Internationalis, one of the largest aid and development agencies in the world. Our Values The values of Caritas Australia are founded on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching: Solidarity we are one human family and we are called to work globally for justice Stewardship we have a responsibility to care for and protect the gifts of Creation The Common Good everyone has the right to access and enjoy the earth s resources 3

4 Steps to Organising Your Event Checklist: u Order your A Just Climate Campaign Kit v Get a planning team together w Plan your event x Promote your event y Hold the event z Collect your signatures and send them to bemore@caritas.org.au { Get in touch and let us know how it went Find out what else is happening u Order your A Just Climate Campaign Kit Order your A Just Climate Campaign Kit or download the campaign resources online at If you have any questions or can t find the information you need, contact the campaigns team at bemore@caritas.org.au v Get a planning team together Organise a group of friends or colleagues to help plan your A Just Climate event. Regular meetings, even if informal, will help make your planning process and your event a success. Create checklists and assign people to particular tasks this is a good way to stay on track in the lead up to the event, and will help ensure you ve covered everything that needs to be done. Make sure that you set realistic goals and that each person knows what they are responsible for doing and when they need to do it by. w Plan your event There are a number of things to think about as you plan your event. The main purpose is to raise awareness in your community about the impacts of climate change on the world s poor and to inspire people to take action in some way, so remember this whilst you re planning. What? Decide what exactly you will do. A basic option might be a screening of the film Sweet Water and short discussion. If you re interested, make your event bigger by inviting a guest speaker, engaging your local MP or incorporating a meal * See suggested event outline for some ideas When? Lots of people will be organising their A Just Climate event in the first week of August for Caritas Australia s Be More Weekend. But it s ok if that time doesn t suit you. Decide on a date and time that works best and go for it! Try and think of a time when most people will be able to come. Where? Convenience is the key. Pick an easily accessible venue or think of ways to integrate your event into a program that s already organised somewhere e.g. at youth group, Church, school or in the workplace. How? Think about all the materials you will need for your A Just Climate event promotional posters, chairs, tables, projection equipment, microphone, speakers/sound, food etc. Set out a timeline for organisation of these items 4

5 and remember, the further out you can organise things from the event date the better. x Promote your event Start early and use as many channels to promote your event as you can. You might want to consider; Making flyers to handout Put up posters in visible places or near the venue where your event will be Advertising in community, parish, school newsletters or newspapers Giving a brief plug in public forums e.g. school assembly, lectures, after mass Sending out an e mail Setting up a Facebook event y Hold the event How exciting Today s the day you take a stand for A Just Climate! Go through your checklist one last time to make sure everything is covered, and touch base with your fellow organisers one last time to make sure everyone is excited and ready! *Don t forget to take lots of photos and organise for the display and collection of petition sheets. z Collect your signatures and send them to bemore@caritas.org. au Caritas Australia will be collating all signatures received throughout the campaign and sending them to the Prime Minister and leader of the opposition. Remember: The more signatures we have, the greater the imperative for our leaders to consider the impacts of climate change on the world s poor as they develop national policies and contribute to international climate talks later this year! Please collect all the signature sheets, type them up and send them to: bemore@caritas.org.au or pop them in the post: O Riordan Street, Alexandria NSW { Get in touch and let us know how it went We d love to hear how your event went! Make sure you get in touch and let us know all the exciting details. Send the following to us in an e mail bemore@caritas.org.au or write to us at O Riordan Street, Alexandria NSW A short paragraph about your event Any photos The petition signatures you collected Local media coverage you got Find out what else is happening Throughout the year, they ll be loads of opportunities to take action for A Just Climate. Sign up for campaign update at to find out about other ways you can get involved. 5

6 Event Ideas The key resource to utilise for your campaign event is Sweet Water a short film which explores the impacts of climate change on communities living in the coastal region of Bangladesh. We suggest starting with this, and building your event around the screening of this film. Here is a suggested event outline to help you in your planning. The sections highlighted in red are for the real keen beans who want to create a bigger, more in depth event. Of course, you could do any combination of these or even add in some of your own ideas you are only limited by your creativity and enthusiasm! A Just Climate Event (Suggested Outline): Activity Useful Resources Introduction & Welcome to Event (10 mins) Caritas Australia Climate Change FAQs, Presenter Notes Guest Speaker/s (5 10 mins) Consider inviting your local MP Introduction to Bangladesh (5 10 mins) Sweet Water Quiz & Quick Facts Screen short film Sweet Water (10 mins) Presenter Notes Shared Meal/Refreshments (30 40 mins) Micah Challenge Share the Earth Guide download at: Group reflection on Film & Issues (15 20 mins) Discussion Questions Part 2 Presenter Notes Action Planning (10 mins) Presenter Notes If you d like to support Caritas work in countries like Bangladesh financially, you could ask people for a gold coin donation for entry to your event. You can send any donations collected to O Riordan St, Alexandria NSW 2015 or contact us for more information on or bemore@caritas.org.au 6

7 The effects of a more extreme and volatile climate are already a daily reality for many of the world s poorest and most vulnerable. As one of the world s highest per person greenhouse polluters, Australia has a responsibility to act with urgency to forge the pathway to a safer, more sustainable future. I call on the Australian Government to: Increase financial and technical assistance to developing countries to enable them to fight poverty and develop in sustainable ways Take a leadership role in reducing national and global pollution levels Support innovative finance mechanisms for tackling climate change NAME PHONE POSTCODE SCHOOL/UNI/ORG TICK TO RECIEVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES Return this form to Caritas Australia, O Riordan Street, Alexandria, NSW 2015